In light of the scandal surrounding James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces, I set out to analyze the origin of news articles regarding this controversial topic. Monday’s issue of USA TODAY featured an article titled “‘Million Little’ problems follow writer,” along with an ad put out by the book’s publisher. Doubleday’s ad is a statement of apology to the reading public along with a list of immediate actions taken by the publisher. Doubleday says it will issue a publisher’s and author’s note to be included in all future printings of the book. Although demands for the book remain higher than ever, the publisher says it will not reprint more copies until the notes are added. Moreover, Riverhead, the publisher contracted for Frey’s sequel, My Friend Leonard, expressed concern and asked the author to confirm the authenticity of the events before publishing. Now to my point: Is it possible that this whole controversy over the fabricated parts of Frey’s memoir may be a pre-planned publicity stunt? Think about it. First, A Million Little Pieces makes the Oprah Book Club and sells millions overnight. The next thing you know, Oprah is publicly lashing out at Frey while the book keeps selling even more. Finally, the publishing company pins the scandal on the author, yet it pays for an ad to let the world know that a new and improved version of the fake memoir will be hitting the shelves within weeks. There is something awfully Bernaysian about this whole scenario.

Let’s take a moment to view this controversy in the context of current American scandals and their aftermath. First we had auntie-like figure Martha Stewart thrown in jail for insider trading. After a couple of months of heavily publicized life within the confines of a country-club prison, Martha returns to a sympathetic public dying to watch her reality TV show and read her magazines. Prison might be the best thing that has ever happened to her. Another piece of juicy gossip came from the catwalk a few months ago when supermodel Kate Moss was caught in the powdery mist of a public cocaine addiction. Contracts were lost; bad publicity flowed like water from a stream, but at the end of it all America stood behind the ailing model and brought her back with more Vogue resilience than ever before.

Going back to the “discredited memoirist James Frey,” one can judge from the outcome of previous scandals that almost always the guilty come out winning America’s sympathy and cash. Now more than ever, one can say that there is no such thing as bad publicity. America loves a public figure in distress, and even if they end up hating Frey, they’ll still buy his books.

It is my belief that PR pros are providing the media with a strategic arrangement of news releases designed to maximize Frey’s visibility and book sales. Let’s recap: We have an array of attractive front cover portrayals of the author (not the typical depiction of a liar); extensive news coverage over whom to blame, featuring a hot and angry Oprah; extensive media coverage about the content of the book; and last but not least, the paid statement by the publisher. In my opinion the move seems truly brilliant. I personally did not have any interest in reading the book until the scandal hit the papers. Now, by default, I know what the book is about; a moving, semi-true memoir about the struggles of addiction and the horrible agony this man somewhat experienced. I say let the man be. So what if he lies a little bit here and there? At least we know he’s not bad at fiction writing. In any case, I will anxiously wait along with the masses for the new version of the memoir/novel to hit the shelves of my nearest Barnes ‘ Noble.